11-year-old Mildred's world is turned upside down when her estranged father, the washed-up magician Strawn Wise, comes to look after her and agrees to take her camping to find a mythological beast known as the Canterbury Panther.

Mildred's life is turned upside down when her mother lands in hospital and his father, Strawn Wise, comes to look after her. Strawn takes Mildred camping in the rugged New Zealand wilderness and the pair embark on the ultimate test of family bonding.